The RFA worked for the one type of arrhythmia that I had(a short circuit in the atrium), but not on the other(that mysterious 'unknown' cause). To me, it was a choice of being hit with the paddles every month or so or medication for the rest of my life. I thought I'd give surgery a try. They don't know if it will work until they have gone in. Even then if you have the type that comes and goes and is not a simple short circuit, it may not work. They fixed my short circuit, but not the unknown cause for the rest of the problem. I personally think it has a lot to do with stress.

Keep in mind that there is a 1 in a 100 chance of you checking out from the surgery. Paddles just didn't seem appealing to me on a regular basis. I took the chance (I never have won any lottery drawings either; figured it was a safe bet), but am on a killer drug as long as I can afford it and my body doesn't start rejecting itself because of the drug.